Ms Sheenagh Rooney:

We have met the APHCI on many occasions and we listen to its concerns and fully appreciate its commitment to safety. We are equally committed to safety and it is our legislative role. Before the Legislature gave us power to bring in this scheme, anyone could carry out work on a gas supply in somebody's home without having any competency at all. The scheme is definitely bringing benefits. By law, people must be registered, competent and do certain training and assessments. We publicise the requirement and have recently significantly ramped up the number of prosecutions we have taken. This is evidenced by seven successful prosecutions last year and we have a number in the pipeline. This compares favourably with the UK.

The scheme has improved over time because of representations that have been made to us by groups such as the APHCI. I refer to a number of examples of issues we have taken on board. The entry requirements for the scheme have become stricter and there is a requirement for a competency assessment every five years. The association made recommendations regarding the recording of complaints, which have been taken on board, and it made a number of suggestions on how we could tackle illegals more by engaging with boiler suppliers, which we have done. However, we feel from a legal point of view that we are doing everything within our power to tackle the number of illegals. No illegals are acceptable to us and we will remain committed to that. We are also happy at any time to engage with anyone who has further ideas to tackle illegals.